stiv bators Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Dead Boys “Younger, Louder and Snottier”

sfilzen — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:13:32 +0000

Dead Boys “Younger, Louder and Snottier” 1989. Necrophilia Records. Pink vinyl. Today, February 18th, is Cheetah Chrome’s 65th birthday (b. Eugene O’Connor, 1955). Younger, Louder and Snottier is the rough mix recording of the Dead Boys classic debut Young, Loud and Snotty – even messier, louder and crazier than the official release. This record’s story from the liner notes, I believe written by Stiv Bators: “the assistant engineer, Bob Clearmountain…made a quick mix for the Boys to take back home to Cleveland [from Electric Lady Studios in NYC]. It was recorded over a cassette copy of Quadrophenia by the Who. Ten years later, I was about to tape over this cassette, thinking it was the Who…Surprise. Surprise. Surprise!!! The MIX everyone had forgotten. I played for the Dead Boys. They were shocked, pissed off and felt cheated! This was how we sounded LIVE!!! In further investigation, no one saved a copy of this mix- no one!!” Besides having the rough tracks from the original LP like “Sonic Reducer,” “All This or More (I wanna be a dead boy),” “Li’l Girl,” “I Need Lunch” and “High Tension Wire,” it also includes a live cover of the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy” recorded in ‘77 in San Francisco.

And of course I cannot post about the Dead Boys or Cheetah Chrome without including this photo from 2017 of me with Cheetah and Johnny Blitz. So here it is. Again.

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The Lords of the New Church “Like a Virgin”

sfilzen — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 20:09:43 +0000

The Lords of the New Church “Like a Virgin” 1985. 12″ single, Illegal Records. Today, August 16th, is Madonna’s birthday (b. 1958) so I’m spinning the best and most irreverent cover of her smash single “Like a Virgin” from 1984. The Lords cover of “Like a Virgin” is fantastically, and purposefully, horrible. Sneering, laughing and belching their way through the pop track, they also manage to make it goth and a bit creepy. The flip side of the 12″ (labelled “Side AA”) has two original Lords tracks: “Method to My Madness” which is a more typical Lords dark goth rocker from 1983, and “Gun Called Justice,” a stark bluesy acoustic track.

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Dead Boys “Sonic Reducer”

sfilzen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:35:26 +0000

Dead Boys “Sonic Reducer” 1977, 12″ single. Today, June 4th, is the anniversary of Dead Boys singer Stiv Bators’ death (b. Steven Bator, 1949), killed after getting hit by a car in Paris in 1980. (His ashes were scattered over Jim Morrison’s grave.) “Sonic Reducer” is one of the best early punk anthems ever. First written by Cheetah Chrome and David Thomas while they were in Rocket From the Tombs around ‘74-’75, Dead Boys reworked the track – with some lyrical change by Bators – and included it on their amazing debut Young, Loud and Snotty. The B-side of this 12″ has the cover “Little Girl,” performed live, originally by Syndicate of Sound (garagey psychedelic rock) from 1966 as well as “Down in Flames” written by Stiv Bators and Cheetah Chrome that also appears on Young, Loud and Snotty.

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Dead Boys “Night of the Living Dead Boys”

sfilzen — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 19:40:14 +0000

Dead Boys “Night of the Living Dead Boys” 1981, recorded in 1979 at CBGB. Bomp! Records. Today, February 18th, is Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome’s birthday (b. Eugene Richard O’Connor, 1955). Classic, early American punk, this LP features live renditions of Dead Boys songs from their classic debut album Young Loud and Snotty like “All This and More,” “Caught with the Meat in Your Mouth,” “What Love Is,” “Ain’t Nothin’ to Do,” “I Need Lunch” and the punk classic “Sonic Reducer.” From their second – and final – studio album We Have Come for Your Children included on Night of the Living Dead Boys are “3rd Generation Nation,” the cover of Rolling Stones’ “Tell Me,” “Catholic Boy,” “I Won’t Look Back,” “Ain’t it Fun” and “Son of Sam.” Also appearing is one song that does not appear on either of their albums, the lead track “Detention Home.” I don’t generally have high expectations of most live albums, especially ones from the 70′s at crappy punk bars. Night of the Living Dead Boys is surprisingly high quality for its time and venue with Stiv Bators’ dark slinky style easily shimmering through, Cheetah Chrome’s and Jimmy Zero’s guitars appropriately either murky or cutting depending on the song but always loud and the rhythm section of Johnny Blitz on drums and Jeff Magnum on bass driving (also loud!).

Also: anytime I ever write about Dead Boys, I have to post about the time that Cheetah and Johnny went on the Young Loud and Snotty 40th anniversary tour and we got to meet them (and get our album signed) at our favorite local record shop before the concert. Here’s me and the guys in 2017.

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Dead Boys “We Have Come For Your Children”

sfilzen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 17:19:16 +0000

Dead Boys “We Have Come For Your Children” 1978. Today, October 22nd, would have been Dead Boys singer Stiv Bator’s 69th birthday (b. Steven John Bator 1949, d. 1990 after being hit by a car in Paris, his ashes purportedly scattered on Jim Morrison’s grave). We Have Come For Your Children was Dead Boys’ second and final studio album; they broke up in ‘79 (though briefly reunited in ‘86 and then again a few times after Bators’ death). It’s great punk rock, super-dark courtesy of Bators’ unparalleled sneer. I love “3rd Generation Nation,” the melodically upbeat “I Won’t Look Back,” the epic – at least by punk standards – “Son of Sam,” their cover of Rolling Stones’ “Tell Me” (which was the Stones first Top 40 hit in the US), “Big City” (written by Kim Fowley, infamous manager of The Runaways), and the masterpiece “Ain’t It Fun” which Cheetah Chrome’s Rocket From the Tombs also recorded (as did Guns N’Roses). But especially fun is the Ramones-esque titled “(I Don’t Wanna Be No) Catholic Boy” which is made even better with the “Ramone Catholic Choir” singing backup vocals; that would be Joey and Dee Dee Ramone. Perfection.

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The Lords of the New Church “The Method to Our Madness”

sfilzen — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:59:56 +0000

The Lords of the New Church “The Method to Our Madness” 1984. We just picked up this LP, The Lords’ third release, this past weekend down in Indy at Square Cat Vinyl (besides hosting the most excellent Romanus Records Fest, it’s also a pretty great record store). Post punk goth led by Stiv Bator’s unique vocals, The Method to Our Madness also has a bit of a metal edge; it was produced by Chris Tsangarides who was best known for his work with artists like Judas Priest, Anvil and Thin Lizzy (he also collaborated with Depeche Mode). One of my favorite albums of from the goth genre has always been The Lord’s 1983 Is Nothing Sacred? so I’m always eager to acquire more Lords material. The Method to Our Madness is still dark and scuzzy but feels, overall, a bit more bright and enthusiastic in the delivery. Allmusic says about the release, “Although it was the Lords’ third release, The Method to Our Madness sounds more like a debut. The band is bursting with energy and the production, by Chris Tsangerides, is much rawer than that on The Lords of the New Church or Is Nothing Sacred? The opening salvo is “Method to My Madness,” a four-on-the-floor rocker with a vocal contribution by I.R.S. Records impresario Miles Copeland, who admonishes Stiv Bators, “Now don’t go tellin’ secrets/This record’s gotta sell!” After that, the aggression level stays pretty high, dipping only for a couple of ballads, “I Never Believed” and “When Blood Runs Cold” (the latter of which uses a string section; Stiv Bators and strings – who would have thought it?) The Method to Our Madness contains some of the Lords’ best non-hits: the sinister, sexy, bass-driven “Murder Style” and “The Seducer,” the tale of a figure who might be a messiah, might be an antichrist, probably not too far off from how Bators saw himself. The closer, “My Kingdom Come,” sounds like an ending, and it was; the Lords would never again record at full power before their split in 1988.”

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The Lords of the New Church “Killer Lords”

sfilzen — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 20:26:57 +0000

The Lords of the New Church “Killer Lords” 1985. Compilation album from goth/punk supergroup: Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys, Brian James from The Damned, Dave Tregunna from Sham 69 and Nick Turner of the Barracudas. I’ve had my favorite track (and first Lords I ever heard) on pretty heavy repeat the last couple of days: the slinky and slightly dangerous “Dance With Me” which first appeared on their 1983 LP Is Nothing Sacred? The version on Killer Lords is remixed from the original, with a lot more mysterious whisper-sing and echoey effects. Most of my other favorite tracks on Killer Lords are also from that ‘83 release (I pretty much wore out the cassette in the 80′s): “Black Girl White Girl” and the excellent “Live For Today” which was first recorded by the The Rokes in 1966 and made a hit (#8 in the US) by The Grass Roots in 1967. Two other excellent covers are on this comp – TV Smith’s (the Adverts) “Lords Prayer” and the Lords of the New Church’s rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” About “Like a Virgin” Allmusic says, “Opening with a punchy ‘hey’ and ending with an echoey belch (both joyously repeated at crucial moments throughout the song), the band turned in an unusually faithful cover version, albeit one that could barely contain all the cute snottiness that Stiv Bators could muster. Not until the song approaches its climax do the Lords cut loose, dropping all pretenses of art and fidelity, and sexing the material girl right out the door with their hysterical depravity. Outrageous and over the top, and packaged in an eye-catching picture sleeve that reveals one of Bators’ testicles, hanging beneath his wedding dress.” Less successful is the cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Hey Tonight” which sounds way too 80′s hair-metaly for my tastes.

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The Lords of the New Church “The Lords of the New Church”

sfilzen — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 16:32:00 +0000

The Lords of the New Church “The Lords of the New Church” 1982/2014 limited edition reissue on gold vinyl (this one is 075 of 500). The debut album of the goth/punk supergroup (Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys, Brian James of The Damned, Dave Tregunna of Sham 69 and Nick Turner of The Barracudas) reached #3 on the UK indie chart. “Leather-vested vigilantes with dark lyrics musing from religion to politics,” the Lords deliver scathing commentary to a dark and danceable beat. “Open Your Eyes” is particularly poignant:

Video games train the kids for war. Army chic in high-fashion
stores. Law and order’s done their job. Prisons filled while
the rich still rob. Assassination politics. Violence rules
within’ our nation’s midst. Well ignorance is their power tool.
You’ll only know what they want you to know. The television
cannot lie. Controlling media with smokescreen eyes. Nuclear
politicians picture show. The acting’s lousy but the blind don’t
know. They scare us all with threats of war. So we forget
just how bad things are. You taste the fear when you’re all
alone. They gonna git’cha when you’re on your own. The silence
of conspiracy. Slaughtered on the altar of apathy. You gotta
wake up from your sleep. ‘Cause meek inherits earth…six feet
deep.
Open your eyes see the lies right in front of ya.
Open your eyes…..

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